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Posted by: Cary O’Dell
The very first recording of the human voice (added to the Library’s National Registry in 2010) may not be what you think it is. But here scholar David Giovannoni looks back at this momentous technological–and cultural–breakthrough. Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville invented sound recording when he conceived of a machine that would do for the ear …
Posted in: National Recording Registry, Recorded Sound
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
As the world mourns the passing of Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones, the Library of Congress, with the assistance of music historian Dan LeRoy, looks back at when “The World’s Greatest Rock Band” gave the world “Satisfaction.” (A recording added to the Library’s National Recording Registry in 2006.) Not long before his untimely death …
Posted in: National Recording Registry, Uncategorized
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Today, on the anniversary of his untimely passing (in 1926), author Donna Hill looks back at the legend of Rudolph Valentino and one of his most iconic role, that is “The Son of the Sheik,” which was added to the Library’s National Film Registry in 2003. If Metro’s “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” made …
Posted in: Film Essay, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
One of the cartoon world’s greatest and most timeless achievements, “Duck Amuck” (as well as “One Froggy Evening” and “What’s Opera, Doc?”) is recalled by Craig Kausen, grandson of the film’s animator Chuck Jones. “Duck” was added to the Library’s National Film Registry in 1999. When people ask what it was like growing up …
Posted in: Film Essay, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Are you in the mood for some jazz on a summer’s day? Added to the Library’s National Recording Registry in 2006, Jelly Roll Morton’s “Black Bottom Stomp” is recalled in this essay by Burton Peretti. Jelly Roll Morton Few recording projects have had as great an impact on the evolution of jazz as this set …
Posted in: National Recording Registry, Recorded Sound
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Today is Steve Martin’s birthday! As we wish Steve a happy day, comedy historian Kilph Nesteroff recalls Martin’s breakthrough comedy album that was added to the Library’s National Recording Registry in 2004. It was only audio, but it conjured up images of a man in an all-white suit. It was just a record, something you …
Posted in: National Recording Registry, Recorded Sound
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Added to the Library’s National Recording Registry in 2004, “The Girl From Ipanema” is recalled by writer/musician Glenn Zottala. Astrud Gilberto In the 1960s–a very turbulent time in America–Stan Getz released “The Girl from Ipanema.” This became a huge hit both nationwide and worldwide. Who would have thought such gentle lyrical music would catch the …
Posted in: National Recording Registry, Recorded Sound
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Forty-seven years ago today, President Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal. A story worth retelling and exploring, Hollywood of course took it on in 1976’s seminal journalism film, “All the President’s Men.” “Men” was added to the Library’s National Film Registry in 2010. Below, film reviewer Mike Canning looks …
Posted in: Film Essay, National Film Registry, Uncategorized
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
In this excerpt from the National Film Preservation Foundation’s “Treasures of the American Archives” DVD set, author Scott Simmon takes a look at the film “A Bronx Morning,” a “city symphony” of a film added to the Library’s National Film Registry in 2004. “A Bronx Morning” is a portrait of a place and time. It …
Posted in: Film Essay, National Film Registry